Hitherto, light-sensitive recording media comprising a synthetic resin sheet (e.g., a polyethylene terephthalate sheet) having provided thereon light-sensitive microcapsules containing a dye precursor, a photocurable resin and a polymerization initiator as main contents are known, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application (OPI) Nos. 17432/83, 88739/83 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,209) and 88740/83 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,846). (The term (OPI) herein used means an unexamined and published patent application.) The recording medium is subjected to light exposure according to an optical information to imagewise cure the microcapsules, and brought into contact with a sheet carrying thereon a substance capable of forming color upon reaction with the dye precursor (hereafter merely referred to as developer sheet), followed by applying pressure thereto, whereby the unexposed microcapsules are ruptured so that a color forming reaction of the dye precursor with the substance occurs to form an image on the developer sheet. In general, this type of light-sensitive recording media is put in a cartridge and mounted as such in an image recording apparatus. Materials for the cartridge have been mainly concerned in terms of light-shielding property, mechanical properties and cost, and high impact-resistant polystyrene resins and polyvinyl chloride resins compounded with carbon black are usually used.
After pressure development of the light-sensitive recording medium, a latent image which can be obserbed by naked eyes remains on the recording medium due to difference in surface state of the microcapsule-carrying surface between the areas of ruptured microcapsules and non ruptured microcapsules. Therefore, care must be taken such that a secret is not leaked from such a used recording medium. Cutting the recording medium into small pieces to prevent the leakage is cost-consuming and is not desired.
Further, since cartridges for the light-sensitive recording medium as described above are abolished after the recording medium encased is used up, those made of polystyrene resins or polyvinyl chloride resins are troublesome in their abolishing treatment with respect to cost for burning up, air polution, etc.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application, has been filed, entitled "IMAGE RECORDING APPARATUS HAVING MEANS FOR RENDERING INPUT OR INTERMEDIATE IMAGE UNREADABLE" bearing Ser. No. 183,057 filed Apr. 19, 1988.